Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!tamsun.tamu.edu!mtecv2!americast.com!americast.com!usa-post From: usa-post@AmeriCast.Com Newsgroups: usa-today.invest,americast.usa-today.invest Subject: invest Mon, Aug 31 1992 Message-ID: Date: 31 Aug 92 08:51:28 GMT Organization: American Cybercasting Lines: 112 Approved: usa-post@AmeriCast.com 08-31 0000 DECISIONLINE: Personal Investing USA TODAY Update Aug. 31, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network ANALYST BASHES ANNTAYLOR: First Boston analyst Maggie Gilliam says that AnnTaylor is a weak investment, worthy of a sell despite new CEO Sally Frame Kasaks and a new style lineup. The stock had fallen to $12 from $29 in September before rebounding to $21 7:8 Friday. Kasaks says Gilliam is out of tune with AnnTaylor customers. ANALYSTS LOOK AT FRANKLIN: Franklin Quest of Salt Lake City is a New York Stock Exchange company that helps folks organize their time. However, several highly analytical short sellers suggest there's another business afoot: monkey business. They allege that part of the company's sales and earnings are fraudulent, which eventually will lead to a restatement of its results. FRANKLIN DENIES ALLEGATIONS: Franklin Quest of Salt Lake City says allegations by analytical short sellers of fraudulent earnings and other questionable goings-on are "character assassination." Chief Financial Officer Jay Atwood continues, "The shorts are trying to drive down our stock price. We've heard 30 to 40 rumors about our numbers and the integrity of management, and there's no basis to them." INVESTORS LIKE PACKAGE: Investors in Japan appeared pleased with the Japanese spending package unveiled Friday. After investors got a look at the plan, designed to jump-start the slow-moving economy, the Nikkei jumped 415.79 points or 2.4% to 17,970.79, its highest close since June 3. U.S. Treasury Secretary Nicholas Brady says the plan should be an important contribution to strengthening the world economy. THIRTY-YEARS TOP 8%: Rates on 30-year mortgages jumped back above 8% this week, pushed up by a plunge in the value of the dollar. Thirty-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 8.01%, up from 7.87% last week, according to a national survey released Friday by the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. The jump brings the rate back to its level of early August, before it sunk to a 19-year low last week. INTEREST RATES TOO HIGH: The Bundesbank is holding interest rates too high, Deutsche Bank economist Norbert Walter said Saturday. That's causing problems both for Germany's economy and the entire European community. Bundesbank leaders defend the move by saying they're hoping to avoid an explosion of inflation, something Germany has feared since a runup after World War I. VARLEN TO SELL 1.8M SHARES: The Varlen Corp. Friday filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission to sell 1.8 million shares of common stock. The move increases shares outstanding by about 40%. The company said it will sell 1 million of the shares. Dyson-Kissner-Moran Corp., a founding shareholder with a 38.9% stake in the company, will sell the remaining 800,000 shares. ALLIANCE COULD BRING BENEFITS: The Varlen Corp. will receive the proceeds only from the 1 million shares it plans to sell of a 1.8 million stock offering. The remaining shares will be sold by founding shareholder Dyson Kissner-Moran Corp. Analysts say the alliance may bring Varlen other benefits. In particular, the combined offering may help create a larger and more liquid market for Varlen stock. MORTGAGE PASSTHROUGHS UP: Mortgage passthroughs edged 1:8 higher in a second day of subdued trading Friday, according to Bloomberg Business News. The market paid scant attention to news that U.S. personal income rose 0.2% in July while personal spending increased 0.3%, since those data were in line with expectations, traders said. ROOSEVELT EXTENDS PLAN: Roosevelt Financial Group Friday extended its stock repurchase plan for a year, to Aug. 31, 1993. The company has acquired 466,350 of the 575,000 shares authorized under the buyback plan, according to Bloomberg Business News. Roosevelt hasn't been able to make purchases recently because the Securities and Exchange Commission prohibits that while a company is offering shares to the public. GOLD UP, SILVER MIXED: Gold prices rose around the world Friday. On the New York Commodity Exchange, gold bullion for current delivery settled at $339.90 a troy ounce, up 70 cents from $339.20 on Thursday. On New York's Comex, silver bullion for current delivery settled at $3.674 a troy ounce, down from $3.705 Thursday. Silver traded in London at a bid of $3.70 a troy ounce, unchanged from Thursday. DOW JONES OPENS ON UPSWING: The Dow Jones average of 30 industrials opens Monday at 3267.61 after closing up 12.97 Friday. The New York Stock Exchange composite opens at 228.43, up 0.70. The American Stock Exchange market value opens at 381.18, up 0.18. The NASDAQ OTC composite opens at 563.56, up 0.29. 24-HOUR TELEPHONE INFORMATION: USA TODAY Money Hot Line. 95 cents a minute. 1-900-555-5555. Personal Investing editor: Beth Mann. (1-919-855-3491) Making copies of USA TODAY Update (Copyright, 1992) for further distribution purposes violates federal law. This article is copyright 1992 Gannett News Service. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM